When juco safety Shaquille Fluker (Meridian, Miss./East Mississippi Community College)visited the University of Georgia in June, he picked up a surprise offer from the Bulldogs. At the time he expected the coaching staff to wait to see his film from the upcoming season. The confidence the staff showed in Fluker almost made him commit on the spot. He held off then, but less than two months later, Fluker has decided to commit to Georgia.

“Georgia is who I am going with,” Fluker said. “I called Coach Mark Richt and Coach (Scott) Lakatos last Thursday night and they were happy that I wanted to be a part of their football team and the Bulldog family.

Fluker had a number of offers from around the nation with more coming. He picked Georgia over Ole Miss, Kansas, Iowa State and Nebraska among others. The Cornhuskers and the Jayhawks were in his top three with the Bulldogs.

“The people that are in the Athens community want to help you become successful and I wanted to be a part of that,” Fluker said. “Plus I know a lot of players in the NFL have come out of Georgia, so I think I could be one of those to work hard, be successful and be next in line to make it to the league.”

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound safety only visited Georgia although he said he planned to take trips to other schools before making his decision. He just never seemed to get around to it. Fluker wanted to get his decision out of the way before the season started.

“They have a hard defense that allows the strong safety to come down against the run,” Fluker said. “That is perfect for me because I love to hit.”

With three years left to play two, Fluker feels he can make an instant impact once he arrives at Georgia after graduating from East Mississippi Community College in December.

“I feel that if I work hard and focus on learning my position, I can be an outstanding player at Georgia and make a lot of big plays for the Bulldogs,” Fluker said. “Coach Lakatos likes his guys to know their position and be ready to come and deliver big hits and I feel like I can do that.

The addition of Fluker to the 2013 calls gives the Bulldogs 26 verbal commitments with slightly less than six month to go until signing day. He is Georgia's fourth safety commit, joining Tray Matthews (Newnan, Ga./Newnan), Quincy Mauger (Marietta, Ga./Kell) and Paris Bostick (Tampa, Fla./Plant).